Originally Posted by SallyNow 
My response to those who can get on without treatment or medication is, that's wonderful, but that doesn't make you any stronger, better, or more able than people who do need treatment or medication to get through ADHD.
It's like someone with Type 1 diabetes only needing injections once a day feeling superior to someone who needs injections more often. Yes, some people can cope with just one injection, but some people need more, and the fact that treatment didn't exist in your time or that treatment isn't needed in your case (using the general "you") is no excuse for feelings of superiority over those who get the treatment they need. And frankly, it's a good thing that ADHD is slowly being better understood by the medical community, not a bad thing.
ADHD can be great, but other times it can be serious problem that requires treatment. That's just the reality of it.
I personally never said that I felt superior because I can live without drugs. And who's to say that my ADD isn't worse then yours? I'm not saying that you are doing this but, I get frustrated when people use disorders as an excuse or throw drugs at a situation without actually looking for a cure. When you have a disability or a disorder it does not mean that you can't do things, nor does it mean that you shouldn't try, all it means is that you have to work 10 times harder to achieve the same goal as everyone else.
For example I have had severe back problems for most of my life. Every day I live in pain. Sometimes this pain is severe. Yet I garden, I have a job, I mow the lawn, I go grocery shopping, I live my life. My much younger neighbor down the street is using his back problem, which is less severe then mine, to lay around the house and let his wife support him. He won't even mow the tiny lawn that they have. Because I chose to live with my problems I have found ways around it. By the way I don't take any pain pills stronger then a the occasional Ibuprofens because pain pills can be addictive and don't do much to heal the problem.
Furthermore I get frustrated when people think that drugs are the only way to deal with the problem. When I was in high school I discovered and taught myself some very effective techniques to deal with the symptoms. In College I found more. When my son started showing symptoms I looked on the internet and in some books and found almost no help. I had to modify my techniques, find new ones to teach my son. When my daughter started having trouble in school due to ADD, I had to do it again. My son and daughter get A's and B's in school, and my son, who used to be almost completely out of control in school, hardly shows any symptoms of the disorder. Furthermore he is more mature and self controlled then many of the kids his age.
As you can tell, I have a problem with throwing drugs at a problem. When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure my doctor told me that "This thing is going to kill me If I don't do something about it." I lost weight, got in shape and now I don't need to take my meds anymore. Here's another example. Insulin has been around for decades. Because there is a somewhat effective treatment for diabetes, not many have actively sought a cure for the desiese. In the early to mid part of the last century there were big canpeigns to cure or prevent polio and turburculosis, they did not do the same for diabetes. The current campeign for a cure for diabetes seems half hearted at best.
Linear Mode
